A long time ago, I started a thread where I posted all the games that Gamest elected as the best releases from their respective years. However, they also did separate two stand-alone books covering the games they considered the best games of all time: one published in 1991 and a second volume in 1998. I'll naturally start with the 1991 list. Keep in mind these are arcade only and Japanese centric.
60. Ordyne (Namco)
59. Pengo (Sega)
58. Plus Alpha (Jaleco)
57. Ninja Spirit (IREM)
56. Mr. Do! (Universal)
55. Raiden (Seibu Kaihatsu)
54. Afterburner (Sega)
53. Columns (Sega)
52. Moon Cresta (Nihon Bussan)
51. Galaxy Force II (Sega)
50. Assault (Namco)
49. Magic Sword (Capcom)
48. Pac-Man (Namco)
47. Phelios (Namco)
46. Winning Run (Namco)
45. Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Capcom)
44. Crazy Climber (Nichibutsu)
43. Truxton (Toaplan)
42. Kyukyoku Tiger (Taito)
41. A-Jax (Konami)
40. Space Invader (Taito)
39. Splatterhouse (Namco)
38. Rygar (Taito)
37. Ghosts 'n Goblins (Capcom)
36. Power Drift (Sega)
35. Dynasty Wars (Capcom)
34. Marvel Land (Namco)
33. The Ninja Warriors (Taito)
32. Dragon Buster (Namco)
31. Syvalion (Taito)
30. Bubble Bobble (Taito)
29. Street Fighter (Capcom)
28. Gain Ground (Sega)
27. Libble Rabble (Namco)
26. Forgotten Worlds (Capcom)
25. Image Fight (IREM)
24. U.N. Squadron (Capcom)
23. Beraboman (Namco)
22. Return of Ishtar (Namco)
21. Afterburner II (Sega)
20. Gradius III (Konami)
19. Darius II (Taito)
18. Fantasy Zone (Sega)
17. Space Harrier (Sega)
16. Salamander (Konami)
15. R-Type (IREM)
14. Parodius Da! (Konami)
13.
12. The Genji & Heike Clans (Namco)
11. Outrun (Sega)
10. Xevious (Namco)
9. Strider Hiryu (Capcom)
8. Gradius II (Konami)
7. Tetris (Sega)
6. Dragon Spirit (Namco)
5. Gradius (Konami)
4. Night Striker (Taito)
3. Darius (Taito)
2. Final Fight (Capcom)
1. Adventure of Valkyrie (Namco)
Source: http://920ryu.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-56.html
No. 13 is Tower of Druaga by Namco, which the video for some reason skips. I'm kinda surprised Genpei Tomaden ranks above it, even if only by one slot.
Also, No. 1 is supposed to be Legend of Valkyrie. Adventure of Valkyria was the earlier Famicom version.
List from The Best Game 2, published in 1997. Surprisingly there's not much overlap with the previous list.
30. Final Fight (Capcom)
29. Samurai Shodown II (SNK)
28. Xevious (Namco)
27. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (Capcom)
25. R-Type (IREM)
25. Do Don Pachi (Cave)
24. Gradius (Konami)
22. Virtual On (Sega)
22. Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega)
21. Twinkle Star Sprites (ADK)
18. Virtua Fighter 3 (Sega)
18. Street Fighter II': Champion Edition (Capcom)
18. Street Fighter III: New Generation (Capcom)
17. Fatal Fury Special (SNK)
15. Super Street Fighter II Turbo (Capcom)
15. Battle Garegga (Rizing)
14. The King of Fighters '97 (SNK)
13. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara (Capcom)
12. RayStorm (Taito)
11. G-Darius (Taito)
10. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Capcom)
9. Darius (Taito)
8. Tekken 3 (Namco)
7. RayForce (Taito)
6. Samurai Shodown (SNK)
5. Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (Capcom)
4. Darius Gaiden (Taito)
3. Vampire Savior (Capcom)
2. The King of Fighters '97 (SNK)
1. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom)
>>2869337
>14. The King of Fighters '97 (SNK)
>2. The King of Fighters '97 (SNK)
Why is this on there twice?
>>2869474
It's that good.
no virtual on
list automatically shit
>>2869298
I'm kinda surprised to not see Donkey Kong on either list. Was it not as big in Japan as it was in the West?
>>2869298
>no Robotron
>no Defender
Japanese have bad taste
>>2869825
Of course they wouldn't include American games
>>2869825
Makes me wonder how common games from American companies like Williams were in arcades over there. Granted the earliest I'd ever been to Japan was the early 2000's, but even when I did see retro cabs they were pretty much always Japanese games.
I remember that thread, that was really cool of you dude.
Also the Japanese have really bad taste in games despite being amazing at making them.
>>2869854
Williams and Atari mostly relied on local companies to distribute their games in Japan and most of the time they just imported the American cabs since they were incompatible with the Jamma standards that became widespread by the late 80s. Off the top of my head, I know Gauntlet was distributed by Namco, Pit Fighter by Konami and Mortal Kombat (along with T2 Arcade and NBA Jam) by Taito.
>>2869860
>Also the Japanese have really bad taste in games despite being amazing at making them.
I find it fascinating how some arcade games that are generally regarded as bad or mediocre in western forums (such as the original Ninjawarriors and Street Fighter '87) are considered classics in Japan. Also, no mention of Shinobi, Contra, nor Double Dragon. I at least expected the original Kunio to be there at least.
